Rain cools Colorado fires; other wildfires growing

Thursday, July 5, 2012

By KRISTEN WYATT ~ The Associated Press

A plane drops its payload of fire retardant Tuesday on a fire that burns just above homes in the mountains near Alpine, Utah. At least 10 major wildfires are burning across Utah. (Steve Griffin ~ The Salt Lake Tribune)

DENVER -- Rains cooled Colorado's wildfires Wednesday, but more than a dozen wildfires elsewhere in the West continued chewing through bone-dry pine and brush as firefighters working through the holiday kept a nervous eye for fireworks and other hazards.

In Colorado Springs, there was good news in the fight against the most destructive fire in state history.

Light rains that fell overnight helped calm the Waldo Canyon Fire, which has scorched 28 square miles, killed two and destroyed almost 350 homes. Firefighters predicted full containment of the fire by Sunday, with more rain, cooler temperatures and higher humidity predicted through the weekend.

The forecast wasn't as kind in eastern Montana, where a mammoth 380-square-mile in Custer National Forest was gobbling up pine, juniper and sage with help from gusty winds. The fire has burned 16 homes.

Firefighters gave the blaze "extreme" growth potential, with wind gusts up to 45 mph predicted. Temperatures were expected to reach the 100s.

As firefighting efforts continued, holiday fireworks were canceled across the region. Colorado officials were calling off holiday displays from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, while law enforcement was warning of hefty fines for people caught violating personal fireworks bans across the region.

Residents in some parched areas were joining police. In one Colorado Springs neighborhood, a homemade sign read, "FAIR WARNING: Anyone using or allowing use of fireworks in this neighborhood will be dealt with harshly! And that doesn't mean just by the police!"

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which coordinates wildfire-fighting efforts nationwide, said 45 large fires were burning Wednesday, including 36 fires in nine Western states. In Colorado alone, three fires have destroyed more than 600 homes and killed six residents.